Rare coin display device



' Feb. 4, 1959 w. J. 1 0-r1', JR

RARE COIN DISPLAY DEVI-CE Sheet of Filed March 29. 1968 INVENTOR WML/,4M J. 077, Je.

fcwm ATTQENEYS- Feb.v 4, 1969 w. i. L'oTT, .JR

RARE com lDISPLAY-DEVICE Filed March 29. 1968 m M a m MJ i T, ,A f m 0 W. M m

L T v f\\A/m` y B m\ United States Patent O 3,425,538 RARE COIN DISPLAY DEVICE William J. Lott, Jr., 278 Mayfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15214 Filed Mar. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 717,230 U.S. Cl. 206-.83 Int. Cl. A45c .I1/00 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Rare coins are supported in various ways for storing and displaying them. One way is to provide a support or tray with inclined slots in which the lower portions of the coins are inserted. However, this conceals the portions of the coins in the slots and requires the coins to be touched directly by the finger in order to remove them from the slots for examination. Oil from the fingers causes the bright surfaces of the coins to tarnish, so it is highly fundesirable that they be touched. Another way of supporting rare coins is to fit them in circular openings in a sheet of cardboard or plastic so that they lie in the plane of the sheet. Transparent plastic strips then are applied to the opposite sides of the sheet over the coins to hold them in place and also to protect them. This system requires some work to mount the coins in the sheet and makes it very difficult to remove them for closer inspection. In order to remove them the coins have to be touched directly, which is objectionable as pointed out above.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a rare coin display device which permits a coin to be quickly inserted in or removed from a holder, which clearly displays the coin, which allows the coin to be examined from all angles without touching it directly, which protects the coin and which permits a number of coins to be displayed and stored together while allowing any one of them to be removed from the group for closer inspection without being touched.

The preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a plan view of my display device, partly broken away to show the inside of the case;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line II-II of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 'III-III of FIG. l.

Referring to the drawings, the rare coin display device consists of two parts; a coin holder A and a box or case B to house the holder or several of them. If desired, the holder alone can be the display device if a case is not wanted. The holder consists of a molded plastic member formed to receive and grip a coin. Preferably, a transparent plastic is used so that the holder will not obstruct the view of the coin. Each of the holders illustrated in the middle and back rows in the case has a body 1 with a rearwardly inclined front surface 2, against which a coin 3 can lie. To hold the coin against that surface, a tongue 4 is integral with the body at the lower end of the inclined surface. As shown in FIG. 2, the tongue extends upwardly in the same direction as inclined surface 2, but it is spaced a short distance from that surface to form a thin slot 5 for receiving the coin. In order to cause the tongue to lie at against the coin and press it against the inclined surface of the body to frictionally hold the coin in the slot, the tongue may be inclined upwardly toward ICC the inclined surface slightly so that the normal thickness of the upper end of the slot is slightly less than the thickness of the coin to be inserted in it. This requires the coin to spring the tongue away from the inclined surface slightly in order to permit the coin to be inserted in the slot, and the tongue then grips the coin.

The tongue and the inclined surface 2 of the holder body preferably are rectangular and about the same width. The length of the inclined surface from top to bottom may be less than the diameter of the coin it is to support, and the length `of the tongue preferably is even less, so that about half of the coin will extend above it and not be covered by the tongue. However, if more protection for the coin is desired, the holders can be made like those shown in the front row in the case. In each lof those holders the tongue 7 has been made long enough to completely cover the adjoining face of the coin 8. In such a case the tongue may project above the top of the holder body 9.

It is highly desirable to provide the front of the holder body with a more or less horizontal shelf 11 extending forward from the lower end of inclined surface 2. This shelf provides a convenient support for data identifying the coin behind it.

As mentioned before, this holder can be used along for displaying a rare coin, which it does very effectively by holding the coin on a slant. It also protects the coin from contact by the fingers of handlers because the coin itself does not need to be touched in order to pick it up and view it from all angles. The holder is the piece that is handled, with the coin securely held in the slot. Of course, if desired, the coin can easily be removed from the holder, examined and replaced.

In spite of such :holders being useable independently, it is highly desirable to also use the box or case B, in which they can be stored and even displayed. Such a case may be made of any suitable material, such as wood or plastic. Another feature of this invention is that inside the case there is a layer 13 of material, preferably plastic, on the bottom `of the case. This layer forms a support for the coin holders A and is provided with openings for frictionally receiving projections on the bottoms of the holders to hold them in place in the case. Preferably, the openings are in the form of parallel slots 14, and the projections are in the form of ribs 15 that can be pressed into the slots, the side walls of which will grip the sides of the ribs.

Although the holder body can be a solid block, it is preferred that it be molded in the form of a bent plate. The front portion Iof the Iplate forms shelf 11 and may be bent down slightly at its front end to space the shelf from the slotted support 13. The central portion of the plate is inclined to provide the inclined surface 2, and the rear portion 17 of the plate extends downwardly from the upper end of the central portion. The lower end of the rear :portion extends down below the level of the front portion to form the rib 15. The holder therefore has a two point engagement with the support; the downturned front end of the shelf forming one point, and the rib forming the other point, so the holder will rest firmly on the support. To facilitate removal of the holder from a slot 14, the holder is provided with a rearward projection 18, preferably in the form of a rib 18 extending across the back of the holder. The tip of the forefinger can be inserted under this rib to pull rib 15 up out of the case slot.

The case can be made any convenient size for housing any desired number of holders. The holders will be made in different sizes for coins of different denominations. By making the cover 19 of the case transparent, the coins can be viewed without being removed from the case and -without removing the cover, although the coins can easily be removed whenever desired. The bottom of the case preferably is provided with a lateral flange 20 of the same width as the thickness of the cover side walls. With this construction, the cover can be sealed in place by means of a strip of pressure-sensitive tape 21 extending around it in engagement with its side walls and with the outer edge of the bottom ange.

I claim:

1. A rare coin display device comprising a molded plastic body provided with a rearwardly inclined front surface, and a tongue integral with said body at the lower end of said surface and extending upwardly in the same direction as that surface but spaced therefrom to form an inclined slot for receiving and holding a coin.

2. A rare coin display device according to claim 1, in which the upper end of said tongue is spaced below the upper end of said inclined surface.

3. A rare coin display device according to claim 1, n which the depth of said slot is less than the diameter of the coin it is to receive, and said tongue is transparent and extends upward past the top of said body to completely cover such a coin in the slot.

4. A rare coin display device according to claim 1, in which the bottom of said body is provided with a downward projection adapted to be held in an opening in a supporting member.

5. A rare coin display device according to claim 4, including a rearward projection from the back of said body for lifting said downward projection.

6. A rare coin display device according to claim 1, in which the thickness of the upper end of said slot is slightly less than the thickness of the coin to be inserted in it, whereby the tongue will press the coin against said inclined surface.

7. A rare coin display device according to claim 1, in

which said body has a shelf extending forward from the lower end of said inclined surface.

8. A rare coin display device according to claim 7, in which said body is in the form lof a bent plastic plate having a front portion forming said shelf, an inclined central portion forming said inclined surface, and a rear portion extending downwardly from the upper end of said central portion, the lower end of said rear portion extending below the level of said front portion to form a rib adapted to be held in a slot in a supporting member.

9. A rare coin display device according to claim 8, including a flat support provided with a downwardly extending slot receiving a frictionally gripping said rib, the rib being removable from that slot to permit separation from said support.

10. A rare coin display device according to claim 1, in which said tongue is transparent; the thickness of the upper end of said slot is slightly less than the thickness of the coin to be inserted in it; and said body is in the form of a bent plastic plate having an inclined portion forming said inclined surface, a portion extending forward from the lower end of the inclined portion to form a shelf, and a rear portion extending downwardly from the upper end `of said inclined portion; the device including a at support provided with a downwardly extending slot, and the lower end of said rear portion of the body being inserted in said support slot and frictionally gripped by the sides thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,075,638 l/l963 Blendinger 206-.84 3,138,244 6/1964 White 20G-.84

JAMES B. MARBERT, Primary Examiner. 

